Senate 20: Stillman easily wins her fifth term

State Sen. Andrea Stillman defeated her Republican challenger Mike Doyle Tuesday night and will serve a fifth term representing the 20th District.

Stillman, D-Waterford, received 23,198 votes compared to 14,652 votes for Doyle, according to unofficial results.

Of the 60,053 active registered voters in the district, 63 percent voted. Stillman led by large margins in Waterford, where she lives, and in New London and East Lyme. Marc Guttman, the Libertarian candidate, received 26 votes in Old Saybrook, 39 votes in Salem and 67 votes in Old Lyme. His totals in the other towns were not immediately available.

During the campaign, Stillman and Doyle tried to convey to voters how they would improve the economy by creating jobs. Stillman attributed the win to her record.

“People appreciate my hard work over the years, and I will continue to work for them,” she said. “Public service is an honor. Every day, when I drive to Hartford and see the gold dome of the Capitol, I’m grateful that people have put their faith in me all these years. I don’t take that for granted.”

Doyle, a New London native with 21 years of experience in state service, was optimistic Tuesday as he crisscrossed the district and received positive feedback from voters. In Waterford, Sheila Fish said it may be time for a change in the district as she walked inside Town Hall to vote.

Doyle said he was very disappointed with the results and that he would have to take a hard look at the numbers to try to figure out what happened.

“We put up a good fight,” he said Tuesday night as he took down his signs throughout the district. When asked if he would run for state office again, Doyle said, “Hell yeah.”

Stillman, the deputy majority leader of the Senate and Senate chairwoman of the legislature’s Education Committee, will continue to represent East Lyme, New London, Old Lyme, Salem, Waterford, most of Montville, half of Old Saybrook and, as of this election, Bozrah. She said talking with voters at the polls Tuesday was uplifting and invigorating. She thanked her supporters at the Democratic headquarters in Waterford for their support and friendship.

Paul Thomson, a voter in Old Lyme, said outside the Cross Lane Firehouse that Stillman “has been around awhile” and “has a track record.”